Hair dryer issues?
 

Wondering if an 1800 watt hair dryer will present problems in Tuscany hotels/Rome apt. Last time I used it in Austria, I blew out the power in the hotel.Has anyone had a problem??

Why not just buy one when you get there?
They're not very expensive.

every hotel room I've stayed in in Italy has a hairdryer in the bathroom. You don't need to bring one.

My experience is that sandi is correct. I never take a hair dryer on any trip to anyplace in Europe.

And yes, you are going to blow the electricty with that hairdryer.

Yes but she is also staying in an apartment, which I wouldn't have thought would have a hairdyer. I'd buy a travel hairdyer & an adaptor at home - you can then use it on trips elsewhere.

We have an 1875 watt hairdryer and have never blown a circuit breaker. We stay in Gites mostly, and a few hotels too. We spend 2-3 months in Europe each year (mainly France & Italy). Once, we purchased a hair dryer in France when our US one died - and it was kinda "whimpy" & we tossed it before we returned home.

Stu Dudley

Sorry I missed the apt part of your query. They sell small but powerful dual voltage dryers in all travel and various "superstores".

I bought one there. It was better than having to worry about it whether the adaptor would blow.

I bought a Vidal Sassoon dual voltage hairdryer a few years ago at Walgreen's. I think it was about $20.

When in Europe, you need to switch it to the proper power and only use the Low setting (the Low setting actually works very much like using the High setting when I'm in the US). I've used mine with no problems on several trips to Europe. It works much better than any of the ones that the hotels supply, in my experience.

I blew out my brand-new 1875-watt travel hair dryer in Italy recently. 'Cause I didn't check the maximum wattage on my power converter - 1600 watts.

Not a big deal because it was only about 20 bucks, but if you *need* a hairdryer on your trip, you should check that out.

I certainly wouldn't recommend a 110 hairdryer with a converter -- the converter probably costs more than the hairdryer itself.

Get yourself a 220 hairdryer. ((b))

Yes, I agree about checking your converter, many have maximum wattages.
I have not blown circuits or fuses, but I have had two hair appliances (dryer, and a curling iron) be destroyed by my using them in Europe, and yes, I did have a large wattage converter and the correct plug adapter. Since then I've used whatever hair dryer my hotel would provide. If it isn't optimal, I just cope. If I were staying in an apt, I'd buy one locally and then just have it.

A hair dryer that powerful will blow out the dryer or the electricty or both in many places in europe. The wiring is old and simply not up to appliances drawing that much.

Suggest you buy a small one in europe - so you have no fear of blowng anything. And no - they don;t dry as well and it will take longer to dry your hair. (And yes - the hair dryers provided in most european hotels - unlike the US - are wimpy - just for this reason.)

Just to make sure... I dont know of any inexpensive (30 USD, really cheap!) converter that can legally be used in Europe having more than 300-500 Watts/max. It you use these things anyway and hurt somebody no insurance on the planet will cover you.
have fun

It has nothing to do with the wiring in the place you stay, its ONLY the hair dryer which doesnt meet specifications.

I believe that Magellan's carries a high-wattage converter
at least, I think that's where I got mine

I think it does have to do with the wiring, not just the appliance. Any applicance manufactured and labeled to be dual voltage and the proper requirements I think is generally proper. Old wiring does indeed have lights etc get "blown out" more often when overloaded, even when that wouldn't be an overload in a place with more modern wiring that is up-to-code.

This is empirical, my parents blew out fuses all the time in their house when they would plug in one appliance too many just because they had very old wiring that hadn't been updated.

I also know that I have always traveled with dual voltage hair dryers and have never blown out anything in any hotel anywhere, and I"ve never heard of anyone blowing out wiring from foreign hair dryers in 4* hotels.

Dont get things wrong, US power is decades behind international standards. In western Europe 380 Volts 3 phase current is available virtually everywhere and has been the standard for a long time. (1960ties)(And its generally working well :-) Is some places the wiring may actually be not too good, but its an extremely rare occasion compared to northern America. It you want to do some welding you will shurly prefer being in Europe :-)

What wattage converter and adapter should I buy to use in Italy for my curling iron, or new curling iron that I may buy or my husbands' Braun electric razor?
The hotels have blow dryers so that's no problem.
I plan on buying one here to take with me.
Thanks,